The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Toshiba Pocket PC e750 WiFi Ash Nallawalla ash@melbpc.org.au |
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Toshiba recently released the Pocket PC e750 WiFi and I had the pleasure to borrow one for a couple of weeks. I once had a Toshiba e570 but lost it on a plane or at some distant airport, so I have been slumming it with my old Palm V. At $1300, the e750 is not a device that you want to leave behind, even if it did not contain valuable data.
The e750 is powered by an Intel Xscale PXA-255 running at 400 MHz. Memory consists of 64 MB RAM and 32 MB ROM. The applications in ROM cannot be erased and the data in RAM will survive up to three days thanks to the built-in backup battery. A high-capacity battery can be purchased for extended operation away from a charger.
Pocket PC
The term "Pocket PC" strictly refers to a device that runs a special version of Microsoft Windows. It used to be known as Windows CE but the latest version is Windows Pocket PC 2003. The small colour screen of the e750 shows some of the icons that are familiar to users of the desktop version of Windows XP. While many people will use Pocket PCs as a secondary, electronic diary, others use them as primary, data-collection devices, sometimes with the aid of bar-code or mag-stripe readers or GPS receivers.
While some other Pocket PCs come with only one expansion slot, the Toshiba units for some time have featured both CompactFlash (CF) and Secure Digital (SD) slots. CF memory cards can hold as much as 6 GB, so these little computers can be put to serious data collection work. Alternatively, you can listen to a large collection of stereo MP3 music files or record a very long memo with the built-in voice recorder. Apparently, a 1 GB memory card can store a 3-hour-long video file, but why would you bother?
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WiFi or Bluetooth
You can choose between WiFi (IEEE 802.11b) or Bluetooth connectivity. My old
e570 would have required a plug-in WiFi card that would have occupied the slot
that can now be used for another accessory or a memory card. I evaluated the
WiFi model. This features enables you to surf the Web when in range of a WiFi
hot spot, which are to be found in most large cities and airport terminals. You
can also tap out short e-mails or transfer small files. Encryption is limited to
64-bit WEP.
Outlook 2002
The e750 installation CD-ROM includes a copy of Microsoft Outlook 2002, which
happens to be my favourite e-mail program. Outlook should not be confused with
Outlook Express, which is the free e-mail and news program one gets with
Microsoft Internet Explorer.
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Outlook proper comes with Microsoft Office and includes personal
productivity tools such as a Calendar, appointment scheduler, task
manager, contact manager, journal, note taker and so on. ActiveSync 3.7 Microsoft ActiveSync 3.7 synchronises information between the e750 and the desktop or portable computer so that both platforms have the same data. You can synchronise the Inbox, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and Notes, as well as your Internet Explorer Favourites, AvantGo settings, and files, including documents in Word and Excel format. You can control the amount and type of information that is synchronised, for example, appointments based on date ranges. You can also control when synchronisation occurs. Select continuous synchronisation and this enables changes to be replicated immediately. You can copy all information on the e750, or just the information that has changed since the last backup. The supplied USB cradle enables the PC-to-e750 connection, or you can use the infrared link to beam to a laptop computer or another palm-top device. |
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ATI Presentation Pack
The CD-ROM comes with some additional software, of which the ATI Presentation
Pack is the most interesting if you need to make presentations and travel light.
The IA Presenter enables you to take a Microsoft PowerPoint file and run a
presentation from the e750. The IA Screen Mirror projects the contents of the
e750's LCD screen onto an external projector or monitor. This means you can give
presentations without a laptop computer. I have had to carry a laptop and a
projector on each shoulder and I certainly appreciate this.
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Continuing the portable theme, the ATI Wireless Projector Utility for Pocket PC
enables you to send the images from the e750's screen to a wireless projector. AvantGo The AvantGo service provides free access to personalised content and applications optimised for the Pocket PC. With AvantGo you can browse your favourite Web sites or access channels such as CNN, Expedia and MSN - by wireless or desktop synchronisation. In Use The screen is bright and clear. I found that it can be too sensitive, for example, I tapped an appointment at an angle and actually moved it to a different time frame. I was eager to try the WiFi capability and it worked well inside my home, which is over 20 m long. Since this was only a test unit, I did not get to use it for an extended period, so I cannot comment on its performance over time. When I had my old e570, I used it in the office as an additional "PC monitor" to keep an eye on the CNN headlines or The Age newspaper. I would imagine that people who monitor the stock market can use it for that purpose too. |
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My collection of MP3s is zero, but I read that one can get up to three hours
worth of music from one charge. I used a pair of headphones to listen to a Media
Player demo and found the sound quality to be quite good.
You will indeed lose your data if you don't keep the unit charged regularly and
if you run it with minimal power management settings while on the move. A
backlit, colour LCD screen gobbles up battery power faster than the older
monochrome Palm V, so you must not forget to pack the plug pack when travelling.
The only minor disappointment was that the popular MiniStumbler application used
to locate wireless access points does not work with the e750's Xscale chip, but
a future version might. The record button tends to get pressed when taking the
unit out of the cradle and I found myself recording needlessly. As a serious
business tool, the Toshiba e750 will undoubtedly please its owners.
URLs: http://www.toshiba.com.au and
http://pocketpc.com
Reprinted from the August 2003 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
